Gender Pay Gap Statement 2024 – ION Trading UK Limited

As part of our commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, ION Trading UK Limited (the “Company”) is dedicated to providing a fair and supportive workplace for all employees, regardless of gender. We recognize that addressing the gender pay gap is an ongoing process that requires both transparency and accountability.

At ION, our workforce in 2024 comprised 70.2% men and 29.8% women. The Company continues to see a higher percentage of male employees within the organization, particularly in senior and technical roles, which contribute to the overall gender pay gap. This imbalance is a reflection of industry-wide trends within the financial technology sector, where there is a historical underrepresentation of women in technology and leadership positions.

While our recruitment efforts to diversify our workforce have been successful in increasing gender representation in more junior and entry level positions, particularly through initiatives like the Leadership Development program, we acknowledge that there is still work to be done in addressing the gender representation gap at more senior and technical roles. We remain committed to focusing our efforts on creating pathways for women to progress into senior roles, ensuring equal opportunities for growth, and fostering a more balanced leadership structure within the company.

Our commitment in action

Diversity in Recruitment: We have forged strategic partnerships with organizations dedicated to promoting gender diversity within the financial technology sector. As a result of these initiatives, in 2024, for the first time in the company’s history, we extended more offers to female candidates than to male candidates for our Graduate Leadership Development program. This milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering a more inclusive and balanced workforce, with a clear focus on empowering women in leadership and technical roles within the fintech industry.

Building and Nurturing an Inclusive Culture: We are actively developing our Inclusion and Empower Hour initiatives, which aim to raise awareness and engagement around diversity and inclusion. Empower Hour specifically focuses on women’s professional growth, empowerment, and advancement. It also serves as a forum for discussing and sharing best practices, challenges, and solutions related to gender and professional development.

Gender Diversity Awareness: We have incorporated unconscious bias training into our annual training agenda to promote a more inclusive culture. This initiative helps employees at all levels recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in driving business success. Additionally, it ensures that unconscious bias is eliminated from decisions related to hiring, promotions, and pay reviews.

Parent and Family support: We recently launched a support programme for mothers and mothers-to-be, alongside updated maternity and paternity leave policies. Additionally, we have introduced flexible working options, including remote work and flexible/reduced hours.

Development opportunities and study sponsorship: We are committed to investing in the professional growth of our employees through study sponsorship programs and executive coaching sessions. Our focus is to provide continuous opportunities for skill enhancement, empowering employees to take charge of their own success. Our goal is to support mastery of current roles, facilitate promotions, and enable transfers to new or different positions, ensuring ongoing career development and growth.

Compensation and benefits: We are focused on monitoring compensation to ensure pay equality across the Company. Our efforts to attract and retain diverse talent are reflected in our continuous review of benefits offerings, including recent improvements to maternity and paternity leave pay. To address any gender-based pay discrepancies, we conduct regular internal pay audits. Additionally, we engage with employees regularly to gather feedback on their experiences and perceptions of pay equality. Our commitment to equal pay for equal work ensures that women are compensated fairly based on their role, skills, and experience, free from bias. Any emerging pay gaps are actively addressed to maintain equity at all levels of the organization.

Overview of Gender Pay Gap

While the current data highlights areas for improvement, we are confident that the actions we are taking will lead to meaningful change, ensuring that all employees are paid fairly for the work they do, regardless of gender. We understand that increasing female representation, particularly in senior and technical roles, is vital to creating a more balanced and innovative leadership team. Our efforts to improve gender equity will continue to evolve, and we remain dedicated to creating an environment where all employees have an equal opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

84.5% of males received a bonus.

79.5% of females received a bonus.

Declaration
We confirm that the information and data reported are accurate and in line with the UK Government’s Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.